Multilateral Funds: Building Resilience for Women & Girls

Resilience is built on more than just funding – it requires the space and ability of individuals and communities to resist oppression and have ways of recovering from setbacks. It calls for donors to adapt to the changing contexts and nimble transformation that local women’s rights organisations are leading. The UN Trust Fund’s investment in organisational capacity and resilience, complemented by WPHF’s broader focus on women’s participation, leadership, and agency are providing the kind of nimble support that women’s organisations need on the ground. Rural Women’s Development Society (RWDS), a local organisation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), has built 58 women’s clubs in a span of over 40 years. These clubs are trusted spaces where women feel safe to gather, serving as crucial hubs to deliver services to women and girls who often face isolation or heightened risks of violence. For Mariam*, her local women’s club was the first point of contact when she discovered the non-consensual photo; it was also where she found a psycho-social therapist after RWDS helped her remove the photo from online spaces. Over the past two years, WPHF and the UN Trust Fund have provided complementary support to the organisation as it engaged women, youth, and bridged generational gaps in Palestine’s social movement. WPHF supported RWDS with rapid, flexible funding to empower women’s groups and youth to become early warning reporters of violence against women and girls. The UN Trust Fund is currently supporting RWDS to maintain specialist services for targeted communities (for example, widowed, single mothers, and women with disabilities who are survivors of violence), as accessing services has become harder in the present context of the conflict. Adapting also to the newest frontier of violence against women and girls in digital spaces – with the WPHF and UN Trust Fund’s support – RWDS is transforming its approach to prevention and protection. The organisation is working with community leaders, including men and religious figures, and the Cybercrime Unit to address cyberbullying and blackmail, framing digital safety as a matter of family and community well-being. For survivors like Mariam* in Hebron, this is no less than a lifeline. “Right now, what women need most is protection”, said Rulla Sarras, Director of Funding and Development at RWDS. “They want to live in their homes safely, free from attacks. Even amid war, women are caring for their families and communities, and they need to feel secure – physically, mentally and emotionally – to continue keeping those around them safe.” In Papua New Guinea, a country where two-thirds of women will experience violence in their lifetime, grassroots women’s organisations like Voice for Change (VfC) are transforming how communities prevent violence and support survivors, both off and online. Funding from the UN Trust Fund enabled VfC to lead a province‑wide programme in Jiwaka Province that changed everyday realities for women and girls. It helped reduce public violence and street harassment against women and girls, made markets safer for women vendors like Lily*, supported the creation of local by‑laws and a provincial gender-based violence strategy, and catalysed the formation of a Women Human Rights Defenders network that continues to work for change beyond the life of the project. With WPHF’s flexible support, VfC is now building on the existing protection system it had curated and strengthening its network of Family Safety Committees, bringing together local organisations, government authorities, police, peace mediators, and justice officials. These committees have improved referral pathways for survivors, created new spaces for women human rights defenders to share experiences and strategise, and developed community prevention plans that tackle gender-based violence at its roots. They are also addressing digital threats, including online harassment, and cyberstalking, helping women safely navigate online spaces while staying connected to critical support networks. The UN Trust Fund’s early investment in VfC’s institutional system and multisectoral referral pathways built the foundation for long-term efforts to address violence against women and girls; while WPHF’s support has expanded its reach and networks to confront emerging challenges, including digital violence – reinforcing prevention with safety. A partnership that turns response into resilience Ending violence against women and girls requires local leadership, sustained resources, and measures that reflect and match women’s real-life needs. In the wake of today’s unprecedented global funding crisis, the coordinated and dynamic partnership between WPHF, the UN Trust Fund, UN Women’s country offices and the wider UN system is fortifying and enhancing a more feminist funding landscape for frontline women’s groups in a way that no single mechanism could achieve alone. By complementing the UN Trust Fund’s long-term investments and institutional strengthening with WPHF’s agility and proximity to crisis-affected communities — and anchoring both within UN Women’s global and country-level gender expertise — this partnership creates a unified, survivor-centred ecosystem built to last. * Names changed to protect the individual’s identity.